China plays tit-for-tat after Canada expels its diplomat

By Tsering Choephel

DHARAMSALA, 09 May: Canada has expelled a Chinese diplomat for being involved in a campaign to intimidate a Canadian opposition legislator critical of Beijing on Monday. 

A Chinese diplomat, Zhao Wei is accused of being involved in a plot to intimidate a Canadian opposition lawmaker, Associated Press (AP) reported today. His expulsion from Canada has furthered the already strained relationship between the two countries. 

“We will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs,” Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joy has said and declared the diplomat “persona non grata”.

“We remain firm in our resolve that defending our democracy is of the utmost importance,” she said, adding that foreign diplomats in Canada “have been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home.”

The Toronto-based diplomat has been asked to leave Canada within five days, a senior government official who spoke on condition of anonymity has said, according to AP. 

Following the decision, there has been protestation led by Canadian parliamentarian Michael Chong who in 2021 put forward a motion that declared China’s treatment of its Uighur minority a genocide. 

A Canadian report, published in the Globe and Mail newspaper, stated believes that China sought details about Mr Chong’s relatives in Hong Kong in an effort to deter “anti-China positions”, BBC reported last Sunday.

In response to the expulsion of its diplomat, Beijing has declared the charges as “groundless” and warned of “retaliation.”

“The Canadian side blatantly declared one consular official from the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto persona non grata based on rumours of the so-called ‘China Interference hyped up by some politicians and media,” the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Canada has said.

“This has seriously violated international law, basic norms governing international relations and the related bilateral agreements, and sabotaged the China-Canada relations,” the statement added.

The statement ended with a threatening undertone of retaliation saying “If the Canadian side acts wantonly and arbitrarily, it will be met with China’s resolute and strong reactions.”

The recent discord between Beijing and Ottawa began in 2018 with the arrest of a top Huawei executive and the detention of two Canadian nationals in China in apparent retaliation. All three persons were released in 2021 on the same day. 

Despite China’s insistence that they “never interfere in other countries internal affairs,” a leaked intelligence report suggests not only the Chinese government’s involvement in spreading disinformation but also in operating a clandestine network to influence the past two federal elections, in 2019 and 2021, reported Aljazeera on 13 Apr 2023.

According to the report, the prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau and Canada’s top security officials have acknowledged China’s interference attempts. It further cited the Canadian police and added that the investigation regarding the matter is underway. 

On Monday, Mr Chong told reporters that “it shouldn’t have taken the targeting of a member of Parliament to make this (expulsion decision).”

“We have known for years that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is using its accredited diplomats here in Canada to target Canadians and their families,” he said, adding that Canada has become “a playground for foreign interference,” including the harassment of diaspora communities.

The Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joy wrote “This decision (expulsion of the Chinese diplomat) has been taken after careful consideration of all factors at play,” AP reported. 

In quick retaliation, China’s foreign ministry declared a Diplomat of the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai, Jennifer Lynn Lalonde a “Persona Non-Grata” in a statement. 

The Canadian diplomat has been asked to leave China by 13 May.